COVID-19 positive tests jump by seven
(CNS): After a day of testing in which the health authorities missed their daily target of 450 by just one, seven more people tested positive for COVID-19. However, none of the new positive patients were infected via community transmission and six out of the seven arrived on recent evacuation flights home to the Cayman Islands. The seventh is a known contact of a previously reported positive case.
Although there was no press briefing today, Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee issued a release about the 449 COVID-19 tests that have been completed over the last 24 hours. All of those who have tested positive remain in isolation, the release stated.
The total number of people who have been tested in Cayman now stands at 5,342, of whom a total of 93 were positive for the coronavirus. On Wednesday, Dr Lee said that no one was in hospital because of COVID-19 and today’s release indicates that this has not changed.
It is not clear how many of the positive people are currently asymptomatic, but 54 have full recovered.
Earlier today Foster’s quashed a rumour circulating that the supermarket chain had closed its store at Countryside because staff there had tested positive for COVID-19.
A spokesperson for Foster’s said that if any of their staff did test positive, “we will alert the community immediately. Until then, we are open for business and continue to follow social distancing guidelines, wear masks and sanitize and clean our stores and high-touch point areas throughout the day.”
Meanwhile at Cost-U-Less, which announced on Wednesday that one staff member had tested positive, Store Manager Mary Pandazedes said that everyone at the discount grocery store has been tested by the government health authorities.
Pandazedes told CNS on Thursday that the employee, who was asymptomatic, had immediately gone into quarantine after learning about a preliminary positive result.
“As a store, we did not wait until it was a confirmed positive and immediately cleaned and disinfected our store with a bio oxygenated chemical used by airlines and other retailers brought specifically on island to combat the COVID-19 virus,” she said.
However, unlike Kirk Market, which closed on Saturday, 9 May, in order to deep-clean the store after three of its members tested positive, Cost-U-Less remained open.
After the positive result had been confirmed Wednesday morning, “per HSA guidelines and further reiterated by the Department of Environmental Health official who was here today, our store is remaining open as we continue to diligently follow our cleaning routines on a daily basis, exceeding compliance with their regulations,” Pandazedes said.
“We have been and will continue to follow any recommendations or requests from the health department or government as we move forward,” she added.
See the latest figures for COVID-19 in the Cayman Islands here
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Category: Health, Medical Health
And when they bring their version of Corona what then? That’s a nasty strain in the US and they don’t care if they have it, they’ll still travel. I have been in travel groups and read the comments. It scared the crap out of me. One person said they would take their mask off when no one is looking. Others saying they won’t wear the masks at all, Covid19 isn’t real, it’s 5g, I’m not taking any vaccine,etc. It goes on and on.
For all the local UK bashers the proof is in the pudding. Let’s see how many Caymanian students return to the UK after their Summer recess.
Funny how no one blames the Premier for the new cases. You blame him for everything else.
He’s to blame. There.
The number of deadly diseases brought on by people who eat rodents and bats is incredible. Watch any documentary about a pandemic and they always begin in Asia.
The Spanish pandemic started in Spain, Europe. Guess you missed that documentary.
It did NOT start in Spain you idiot. In fact, Spanish Flu got the name because the country was neutral in WW1 and were actually reported real numbers so it appeared that they were the epicenter. They were not. Why don’t you do some reading before posting your stupidity. Moron!
You sure about that? Do some research, it won’t take long to find out you’re posting BS
Why don’t you show us? Dumb troll
Smh
Dollars to donuts all of these track back to students returning a day or two before the quarantine.
I am still not getting tested! Keep those blue smurfs away from me!
You’re so cool. Must be so proud of yourself
Hope you’re not on a work permit, cause you might not have a choice if you are.
It’s sad that our government decides what they want to cover up is the dump fire… the fire that is actually causing us issues. So let’s keep us in lockdown and act like it has to do with Covid.
I FULLY SUPPORT THE PREMIER. Yes it was necessary to use all caps and the following exclamation mark!
Stand strong Alden.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln
And dead people start piling up all over the world, you’ll become silent so that people don’t know you’re a fool. In the meantime, we know now.
even though the 6 were not community spread there people on plane with them that has been out and about with family stores banks. has anyone thought of this
They were all isolated. ALL RETURNING RESIDENTS ARE ISOLATED FOR 14 DAYS UPON ARRIVAL AND THEN TESTED!!!
The thing that puzzles me is that there is chatter in the community, people dont want to take the test. And Dr Lee says that appointments to be tested are not being kept. What is going on?! Grand Cayman could be open too!!
I know people who most certainly had covid but just got on with it. Stayed in quarantine and recovered. No tests. More of us have or have had this.
Do you now? Wow, what skills you have. Hope you’re using the special skills for something good.
My circle doesn’t think that, so…
Exactly right. From what I’ve heard, the Brac is being tested and people are stepping up. When the Brac is mostly tested and IF the tests are all negative, then we can presume that it’s mostly clear, and things can ease up on the Brac.
The same can be true for us, however if there are those of us who are sick or have been sick and don’t want to respond to the request to be tested, we will set the process back. Step up everybody. Please. Even if you are or have been sick or think you’ve contracted CV. It’s the right thing to do for the rest of the island.
The fact that 6 were positive and asymptomatic should tell everyone something. The virus is massively under reported. The only reason we know about these cases is because they flew in and were required to test. Not because they were sick with symptoms. I wouldn’t be surprised if 20-30% of our population already got over this virus never knowing they had it.
Not likely. The case-fatality rate is estimated to be just under 1%. We have had zero local deaths, so to say that 12 to 18 thousand have been infected is not plausible.
Logic not your strong point I guess. 1% of what number? Its not 1% of the population, a known numbers, its a percentage of DETECTED cases. And how do you detect the cases if they are asymptomatic and you haven’t tested them? Applying a percentage based on people who have either presented to a hospital or doctor because they have symptoms or because they have been tested anyway and saying that because that percentage of deaths has not shown up in Cayman, where we have had hardly anyone report symptoms, the disease cannot be prevalent here has no logical foundation. And that’s before you deal with the fact that the mortality rates you are quoting are based on different countries and climactic conditions – the ratio of people requiring hospitalisation in the Caribbean of detected cases appears to be way lower than say Italy. Its entirely plausible. An antibody test applied to a statistically valid random sample of the population would of course remove the speculation, but we don’t seem to be capable or willing to do that (yet).
Another way of saying this is, it’s not as deadly as first reported.
The China virus deadliness probably varies from location to location depending on the demographics, climate, season, and the like. Cayman is a unique place. Because of the recent population increase, the average age is probably younger (elderly people usually do not migrate). Also, the Caymanian mixed race component is quite large and includes pretty much everyone of founder descent, regardless of his or her appearance. A more heterogeneous population might be more resistant than an inbred population. Hawaii, another tropical island chain with a large number of mixed race inhabitants, has had far fewer deaths than one would expect from numbers alone.
Why the thumbs down? Seems like a reasonable hypothesis.
DO you consider that it’s because of our early mitigation?
Dr Lee’s previous response on testing for antibodies to try and assess the fully recovered population was that it could not be done because Public Health England hadn’t found a reliable test, so the data would be meaningless. Well, be interesting to see if today’s announcement that PHE has approved the Roche test and the UK government is planning to buy millions of them will change that. And to top it off the test gets done by Roche, so no issue with the local labs already struggling to process sufficient volumes of the PCR test, and the test turnaround time is 35 minutes from the time the sample is processed
We could in theory (cost, logistics of getting the samples to Switzerland) get a very quick sense of whether we have already been extensively exposed. If so keeping the borders closed is pointless. Could mean life or death for the tourism product, given that keeping the borders closed is based on the premise – without any data – that we are largely a virus free island in a sea of pandemic infection.
maybe under reported from where they came from.
I have to wonder did the six return to Cayman because they were sick or did they all get sick on the airplane? It would be helpful to know.
No. They did not come home because they were sick. That’s just stupid. They came home because this is where they preferred to ride out the lockdown, to be with family.
You do realize that almost all are asymptomatic, yeah? Many that are being tested are in the initial phase before symptoms. Or will remain asymptomatic throughout its run.
If someone were to know they had it and got on a plane, well, that would be ridiculously irresponsible. Haven’t you seen the movie Pandemic?????
and what about the people they were on the plane with
In isolation with them! You really haven’t been paying attention have you. ALL returnees go into 14 day mandatory Gov’t quarantine.
We should follow the TRump model
‘Without testing we would have less cases”
And then chalk up any deaths as natural causes.
Why aren’t ‘local’ positive cases quarantined at gov’t run facilities (sent to one of the hotels they use) like the persons returning? Why is the government content to say one new case or x new cases but that is related to a known previous positive case? By definition that subsequent case could have been avoided. Why is the government exposing the other members of a household by sending persons who test positive back home to so-called self-isolate? The wrong policy is responsible for most the current community spread.
Because those cares are most likely poor…
wouldn’t you rather be at home with your own things and the things/people you love around you? If my family member was sick, I would want to keep them close to keep a good eye on them even if it could potentially infect me. There are ways to isolate in some homes without being in too much jeopardy.
All the data concludes with this formula – evacuation flights + time = more community transmission
Is this your passive aggressive way to say we shouldn’t allow Caymanians back into their own country?
I disagree, but I do think we should put an expiry date to when they can return, like a month or 2 months from now. Not when you feel like it, as in these circumstances we shouldn’t have to worry about someone returning and then be one of the rare ones that doesn’t test positive until they are out in the public again.
no news here…except the fact that cig seem to be experts at importing the virus into cayman.
Wherever these people flew in from I am glad I’m not there. But what happens to the other people that were on the plane? If they got exposed to the virus on the flight 14 days quarantine might not be enough.
Nobody leaves quarantine without having negative test results!
They test EVERYONE after 14 days anyway. Calm down.
They test them twice before letting them out of quarantine
They’ll actually test them more than twice. They test until they get two consecutive negative results.
We are all going to die! Quick, destroy the economy, that should soften the blow.
Quick, get a hammer and whack yourself over the head
9:28 was sarcasm. Quick get a hammer to build all the coffins needed. One may recall a poster on this site genuinely thought we would lose 30,000 people. It was early days and the poster had no concept of death rate. The reality is, the longer we close down the place, someone will be taken by nature and we have to hope that person doesn’t have covid-19 or Alden will shut us down more. If we open up, someone how is not in the best of health, or up there in age, has a greater risk of catching the virus. If that happens, we get shut down again. Given Alden’s stance, and it will not change, the best thing to do is get the positive cases to zero. The alternative would be to isolate the old and infirm and let those who are active (mind, body and soul) go back to work. But reason and compromise are not things Alden understands.
Yes, option two. At this point people understand the risks of being in the community. If you want to stay home, do so. If you want to go out, do so.
No you are right, we are all going to die. Just now if you are a small player you will die sooner. Our Government our are f-Ing assholes. Their disregard for our families is shocking. Their disregard for our suffering is biblical. They will be judged.
At least they were not community spread cases, and well done for getting more people through testing best number yet. How many people are currently in Quarantine and has the others on the same flight now been released?
“..Jumped by seven..”?? Take it easy CNS and don’t lose the dance floor since you’ve got the Compass on the ropes. 6 of these came on a plane last week and were isolated the whole time so you could have spun this news in a more positive manner…Signed – First time caller, long time listener
Keep cool, calm down. Stop being an asshole.
You think all six got on to the plane with it? Rational thinkers don’t.
Does it matter? They’re all in isolation, along with everyone else that was on the planes.
So we’re up by seven? Well, another way to curtail these growing numbers is to ensure a simple, preventative measure is enacted. Like stopping the rampant burning of garbage around the Island. Coronavirus is a respiratory disease so it stands to reason that government may want to ensure air quality remains at life sustaining levels. Do officials know what people are burning these days and the actual content of the toxic fumes flooding people’s homes? My neighborhood is inundated with daily burn fumes from backyard burning, which starts as early as 6am straight until nightfall. May I remind officials that several years ago a health survey done on the Island pointed to respiratory illnesses being a top emergency room complaint. Also, another obvious concern is that it’s been a very dry season. I don’t think we want fires breaking out in residential neighborhoods. Mitigating the dump is bad enough. So please government, put a stop to all this burning. Our lungs can’t take it anymore. There are children in these neighborhoods. People with asthma who are at risk. With all the brain power in government (no I’m not being facetious), I’m confident Cabinet and the technocrats can come up with other waste management solutions that doesn’t involve the backyard burners flooding our precious lungs of with noxious fumes.
Prayers to all those infected. And continue to stand strong Premier. Those overfed lawyers aren’t the ones you need to worry about. Continue to protect the people and enact a few more simple measures like protecting our lungs.
I feel your pain. I am surrounded by neighbors setting fires in their yards. Two have encroached on to my property. I’ve called fire and police services (who did both come out to warn them) after the last one. And these idiots were burning again earlier this week. What to do?
Punitive measures should be put in place to deter the burning just like it’s in place to enforce curfew. People just not taking this thing seriously. And we already know what happens to our brains breathing in bad air. Not just the lungs. Although our lungs are a more pressing concern given the Covid crisis.
https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2020-04-22-rising-co2-emissions-may-directly-harm-our-ability-to-think-study
Agree . Also need to get rid of the garden leaf blowers.
Call your MLA
Thanks to the authorities for implementating mandatory isolation for arriving residents and good contact tracing.
We’re now in the top ten on testing per capita.
which means nothing…because we don’t have any idea of thelevel of infection in the general population.
start random testing asap.
Perhaps look up just how good these test are and what is the % of false positives/false negatives?I can not find anywhere where they say they are all 100%. Doesn’t that mean that out of one hundred test their may be one or two that could be false? Not necessarily a bad thing as they are still giving a great interpretation of the general public and If a person has a positive reading with no known contact it might mean they are really OK. It could mean that there are no unknown cases walking around. Just sayin. Hope for the best.
The kits we have have not been found to give a false positive. Dr Lee said some results were returned Inconclusive & they are treating those as positive until additional tests are run .(ie quarantining the individual).
Tests from a different manufacturer, using s a different technology, are now bring found to only get correct results 75% of the time. Thankfully that’s the test Donald Trump touted as fast & reliable so not one else was buying them.
Now that Public Health England has approved the Roche antibody test, is there any possibility of Cayman getting the testing kits for that?
Good result getting the testing numbers up to 450. Any chance of getting more equipment in to double that number so that construction workers and others can get back to work safely?
Any chance of having people who have expertise in anything, who knows what they are doing and do it well?
When a paving machine operator also Minister of Education and Agriculture, when Minister of Health has become a national joke, when it took more than a month to figure out what to do with Covid19 tests that were purchased in masse, do you expect they have staff, knowledge and expertise to run more sophisticated tests?
To be fair the Roche test is not processed locally, so local expertise and resources not an issue. The samples have to be sent to Roche. Whether the government has the funding for it or can work out the logistics of getting the samples to Switzerland for processing is an open question.
There goes more foreign workers taking our jobs.
There’s hardly enough Caymanian construction workers to do all the work that has been going on here in the last few years or in the immediate future. Plus, most will not work for a reasonable wage, and I’m not talking minimum, REASONABLE. Let’s be honest, some jobs are only “worth” a certain amount, you will never make $150k a year as a laborer.
I might be wrong but I thought the person was referring to the specialist for the tests. However, they should know we might not have anyone qualified to run them and would have to bring in someone.
Thank god you see it. Does anyone else?
Ministers here have (usually, I know some exceptions exist) zero experience in handling the departments of which they are in charge. Furthermore (and possibly more importantly) they often have no experience or training whatsoever in LEADERSHIP.
Hence they flounder around and accomplish nothing while their more-qualifies staff struggle to manage a failed framework.
Dwayne, Tara, and Julianna are the best examples. Eu blacklist…joke of an education system…and nothing to do with health mentions by Jon Jon ever.
Not sure why I write this down to be honest. They’ll probably all be elected again, and then we can blame all the problems on the expats as we always do.
I am sorry for the people who tested positive and I hope that they all make a speedy recovery.
In terms of risk to our population, it would be useful to know whether the 6 returnees were all on the same flight and if so from which country they came from.
It also would be useful to know what percentage of people on the flight tested positive as that may provide some indication of the risk associated with bringing in people from particular countries.
Just doing the math on the 2 week period, and the 2 days to get results, they were on the BA flight. Approx 63 people came back to Cayman on that flight, so 11% were asymptomatic positives (as they wouldn’t have flown with symptoms). This goes to show how rampant the virus is in the UK… And also that death rates are exaggerated due to lack of testing.
Well said!
Wonder if any of them were in the Governors security advisor team?
If there was a flight from anywhere else and persons were infected, we would have been told.
6.20am You have no idea what flight they arrived on due to your government’s obsession with secrecy. My daughter was on the previous BA flight with even more passengers and none tested positive. Try looking elsewhere.
but that was way earlier on. It’s bad in the UK
For those screaming to close the borders to Caymanians returning home. How would you feel if that was you? In light of 6 positives coming from the returning repatriation flights. I think I wouldn’t come back unless absolutely necessary as who know where they got it.
And to those eager to open up the borders to tourists. I think this pretty much illustrates what will happen if we do so too soon. It’s clearly rampant in the US right now, you really want to take the chance of letting tourists back in without any isolation period.
Mic drop!
I agree an accept that we won’t reopen any time soon. Even 1Sept seems unrealistic. There is something to be noted about the ZERO hospitalizations however. I’ve had four family members in my homeland test positive, barely show a symptom, and recover fully. Don’t panic! I haven’t seen them in over a year. Just some anecdotal evidence that this isn’t necessarily a death sentence. I still don’t think will see regular flights in and out until Christmas.
American is resuming regular flights to Antigua in June. Opening the borders is a policy decision. If Antigua doesn’t have a second wave spike, the pressure from the tourism industry to reopen will be enormous (as will the pressure on government finances come August). 1 September unrealistic – hmm, not so sure any of us really know.
Sep, Oct are super slow season anyways so better to wait till Nov at the earliest. Maybe even Dec
But wouldn’t it make sense to reopen during the “super slow seasons”? With less tourist coming in, CIG can implement effective controls for handling them and it could also serve to determine how would would manage reopening to mass tourism.
that’s true as well, but I wonder if it does set things off badly here they would shut up shop again, and then we’re really screwed for high season and for who know how long. Maybe more prudent to wait.
8:57 It shows everyone sees this Situation from a Different Window!
And if its already been here and through the local population already, so isolating ourselves makes zero difference – what then? The only data we have on positives is when we test, which so far has been selective rather than random, and will only show a positive if you currently have live virus – will show no output if you already had it. And whilst no one has yet demonstrated that if you get it and recover you are immune, if say 20% of the population have already had it its going to be through the community already (explaining those community transmission cases that keep re-occuring even though the borders have been shut for weeks) the chances of eradicating it are square root of sod all, borders or no.
You understand that the idea that the only people in Cayman who have the virus are those testing positive and we can shield ourselves from the outside world to avoid contamination is based entirely on an assumption, right? No data.
You may want to pick that mike up.
Mic even. But I concur. I’m getting very irritated with everyone comparing us to the United States or the UK because we clearly are not. Crazy that we have this under control but yet we can’t move on … let’s start.
True
Again, they don’t know how long immunity lasts, weeks, months? Neither of those are of any use.